The Best Move I Ever Made
by ChaingangDiva
Summary: Gibbs gets a new agent working for him. She’s hot, charming, caring, sharp and intelligent. He’s hard on her at first but soon a friendship turns into love for both of them but neither of them will tell the other!
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention. **

**A huge thank you to Elaine who game me some feedback, so following her advice I have deleted the old story under the same name and re-written the chapters. Hope this is better now for you all. **

**Enjoy and please Read & Review!!**

Information:

Your name is Torrie Smith. You are 25 in two days. You have black mid-length straight hair, Blue eyes and you weigh approximately 140lbs and you are 5'8 and very toned up. You have a 2 bed house and you have just got out of a divorce. You have no children.

I pulled up to the gate and showed my security card to the officer on-duty "thank you miss. Staff parking is to the left" he said with a smile "thanks" I said as I drove off to find a spot. After parking my Black 1970 Fastback Mustang and grabbing everything I would need, I locked my car and walked over to the main entrance. Taking a deep breath I walked in, passed through security and made my way up to the 3rd floor. As the elevator opened I stepped out and looked around. So this was NCIS in Washington DC. I knew where my new boss should be but looking across seen he wasn't at his desk, in fact no-one were at their desk in the bull-pen where Gibbs' team sat.

Just as I looked at my watch reading 7:45am someone touched I on the shoulder. "You looking for someone miss?" he said in her ear "yes Special Agent Gibbs. Do you know where I can find him?" I said turning around to face an oldish looking man "Give it a couple of minutes and he should be here. He just went out for coffee. I'm Dr. Mallard by the way but everyone calls me Ducky. I'm the medical examiner here. " He smiled and shook my hand. "Torrie Smith. I'm the new agent working with Special Agent Gibbs." I said, smiling. I walked with Ducky over to the bull-pen where I sat talking about anything and everything.

After about 10 minutes the lift went and I both looked up to see Special Agent Gibbs walking towards you, "Ah Jethro you're back. The report I wanted is on your desk and Director Sheppard has everything to sign off on her desk. Before I go this is Torrie Smith your new agent." Ducky said smiling at me "it was nice talking to you Ducky. Thank you." I said smiling back. "You're welcome my dear. Now I really must get back to work." Ducky said walking off towards a set of doors.

I took a deep breath and held out my hand "Special Agent Torrie Smith, nice to meet you Boss" Gibbs shook me hand and told I to sit down. "Torrie there are two rules you have to learn quickly 1) Never drink my coffee even if Dinozzo says its not mine and 2) Learn to predict what I'm going to say or ask you and everything will be fine." I took this in quickly and set up my desk as I wanted it. Gibbs had told me that they had given him more room considering he now had four other agents working for him.

About 10 minutes after I sat down and filled in the rest of the paperwork I had to do ready for the director, the lift went. "Whatever Tony. I so don't believe you." "Probie help me here" Tony said looking at MeGee "Sorry I agree with Kate, don't believe you" Probie said walking to his desk while Tony and Kate sat down at theirs. "Dinozzo" Gibbs said looking at him "Morning Boss" Tony said smiling "Don't start Dinozzo. You got that report ready for me yet?" "Umm yes just. Sorry late night party down the street kept me awake" Tony said getting up and giving a report to Gibbs.

"Boss who's that?" Tony said pointing over his shoulder while whispering. "Listen up." Gibbs said as Tony sat down and everyone looked up, "This is our new Special Agent, Torrie Smith. Don't give her a reason to quit on the first day. Understood?" "Yes boss" they all said together "I'm going to get coffee who wants one. Kate?" "please boss" "MeGee?" "yes please boss" "Dinozzo?" "please boss" "Torrie?" "please boss milk, two sugars" "Ok. Dinozzo director wants to see you now" Gibbs said as he got into the lift. "Torrie I'm Kate Todd, that's Timothy MeGee but he prefers Tim, and that" Kate said pointing to Dinozzo has he ran up the stairs "is Tony Dinozzo, Gibbs second in command. By the way coffee is $1.20"

"thanks Kate, Tim. Wasn't sure if I'd get to know your real names" I said laughing with them. "Oh Torrie" Kate said as she sat down "what did I do before joining us?" I looked up and said "CSI in New York. Couldn't take it anymore and decided to leave. Really hard case that pushed me over the edge." I sat talking with Kate and Tim for 5 minutes then Tony joined in and I gave up laughing with Kate.

"See you lot are getting on well" Gibbs said as he passed out the coffee's and took the money "First ones on me" he said as he handed me my coffee. "Thanks Boss" I said looking up at him. "come on Abby wants to see us" Gibbs said walking out of the bull-pen. I followed Gibbs and the team to Abby's lab. "Ab's what I got?" Gibbs said walking towards the screen "Well boss-man DNA that doesn't match your vic so I'd tell the director to hold off on the paperwork if I were you" Abby said smiling at Tony, Kate and Tim. "Torrie? Torrie Matthews?"

Everyone looked at me then I realised "Abby! Oh My God it's been 8 years since I seen you" Abby ran and hugged me and I hugged her back. "You two know each other?" Gibbs said looking at us both "Yes I went to high school with her" "Bat girl one thing it's not Matthews anymore" I said laughing "It's Smith" "You're married bunny girl?" "Was but it didn't last considering I caught him sleeping with my chief bridesmaid two years into our marriage." "Aww then he didn't deserve you!" Abby said skipping over to Gibbs and kissing him on the cheek. "Anything else Ab's or can I go and stop our vic from being released?" Gibbs said smiling at her "nope I'm done boss-man" "let's go" "Bye Ab's" you all said and followed Gibbs.

Please R&R. Any Feedback is really appreciated! J

Thank you Sheree xXx


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention.**

**I am no scientist and have no idea if what I wrote in this chapter is even possible but it's a story so I'm sorry if you don't like it.**

**As always please Read & Review!**

I followed Gibbs and the team down to what turned out to be Autopsy. "Hey Ducky, our vic from the café shootout hold off on releasing him will you. New information from Abby so we need him a little longer" "Ah Jethro no problem, just in time for the results from the green substance in the victims stomach. Which we have a problem with anyway." Ducky said pushing the body back into it's storage freezer and handing Gibbs a piece of paper "Ducky I have no idea what this is" Gibbs said looking up "That's the problem I don't either and for the databases that Abby can search, she can't find a match either" Ducky said looking at Gibbs then the rest of the team. "Boss" I said a lot braver than I felt "could I take a look. I may be able to tell I what it is" Kate, Tony and Tim were looking at me smiling and Ducky was positively beaming at me.

Gibbs considered what I said for a couple of minutes then said "Knock yourself out" I took the piece of paper and looked at the compounds making up the substance for a few seconds "It's a mixture of poisons that when mixed together make it impossible to tell which one actually killed the person. I think they are Hemlock, dogwood, sulphur and hydrochloric acid. The acid would turn this into liquid but you could add water which would dilute the acid so it didn't burn the tongue or throat, mix it together then add it to something, like soup or their drink or let it dry out into a powder a sprinkle it over the victims food or mix it into the victims drink." I finished handing the paper back to Gibbs, smiling for the first time that day.

"How do you know that?" Tony asked looking at me in amazement "I used to love working in the lab when I was a CSI in New York and one day it was quite so I went over some old samples and when I compared the peaks of the control samples we had on file to the questioned sample I was testing I discovered that it was actually a mix that even the computer couldn't break down. It's been stuck in my head ever since" I said remembering the fun I had watching my friends trying to guess what the sample actually was.

"Well done Torrie I didn't think we would ever solve what it was." Ducky said smiling at me. "So out of the poisons in this which would kill someone within seconds of ingesting it" Gibbs said this time looking straight at me "It depends on the amounts that were mixed together. If I had to pick one straight off I'd probably go for Hemlock. But I would get Abby to break down a piece of brain tissue and find the highest peak, that would tell me which one killed him." I said growing in confidence by the minute. "Dinozzo run this to Abby and tell her that I said to do a brain tissue break down. Then go to records and ask for the case notes for Case 007911" "Boss, what if she asks what to look for." "Tell her, never mind McGee go with him and help Abby." Gibbs said as Tony walked out the doors and Tim ran out after him.

"Kate go find me every supplier in the DC area that sells these poisons all together to anybody with ID over 21. Cross reference them with known enemies of our vic" Kate took a couple of notes as walked towards the lift passing me and saying "Nice job Torrie that impressed the Boss" and walked off smiling, leaving me with Gibbs and Ducky in Autopsy. "Jethro one more thing. Our vic has some odd shaped wounds around his temple, I can't seem to match to anything in the database" "Torrie have a look. Maybe you've seen them before" Gibbs said stepping back to let me get closer "I know what these are. They're the end of a sniper scope. See the cross here some people make thin metal strips and place over the outside of the lenses to help train their eye to make sure they hit the target every time" I said pointing to one of the marks. "Whoever hit him they broke their scope and their strips."

"This looks like the last mark, maybe after he broke them he checked for a pulse found he was still breathing and made him eat or drink something with the poisons in." I said standing up again and looking at Gibbs who was smiling at me "thanks Ducky. Torrie let's go" Gibbs said walking out of autopsy towards the lift. I followed him and got into the lift. Gibbs hit the button for his floor but as soon as the lift started moving, he hit the emergency stop. "Torrie" I turned to look at my boss. "Yes Gibbs" I said thinking hard about what I could have done to make him stop the elevator. "I just wanted to say that was some very nice work. I knew having an ex CSI would be helpful but I never thought that it could provide so much information in one go to give us two different leads." He said and hit the emergency button making the lift move again "Thanks Gibbs that means a lot" I said as we both walked out the elevator and over to our desks.

For some reason I just couldn't keep the smile off my face. Gibbs walked up to the directors office and I sat down thinking about that smile Gibbs had given me. Maybe I could learn to like it here after all.

**That's it for this chapter. Please R&R. Again Sorry if I didn't like it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention. **

**Please Read & Review!**

"Kate any luck on the poisons yet?" Gibbs asked drinking his coffee as he walked back into the bullpen "Not yet boss. I've got 2 that sell three of them and about 20 that sell one or two of them but I'm still trying." She said dialling another number. I looked across at Gibbs who was staring at his computer screen reading something "Boss got the case notes. Sorry it too so long they could find them at first." Dinozzo said handing Gibbs the file and walking back to his desk. He started working on, what I could only assume, was the report Gibbs had asked him about this morning. Gibbs started looking over the case file and I decided to do some digging. After pulling up the Weapons Database and clicking on to accessories I typed in 'sniper/hunting rifles with scope attachments', after getting a list of about 300 hits I decided to try adding 'with cross-hairs'.

It took a while but it came up with 100 hits. I sat thinking when it hit me what I was looking for. I decided to re-search and typed in 'sniper/hunting rifles with scope attachment, cross-hair only.' I pressed enter and waited "Boss Abby told me to tell you that the tissue break down is taking longer than expected but asked me to give you this" I looked up to see McGee walking away towards the elevator, and Gibbs reading what looked to be a hand written note. "Torrie here" Gibbs said looking over at me, slowly I walked over and said "yes Gibbs" "Abby wanted to check this was ok with me before she asked you about it" Gibbs said handing me the note.

It read:

Gibbs, I wanted to clear with you if it was ok for you and Torrie to come to dinner tonight. I'd love to talk to you both about something. PLEASE say yes boss-man. PLEASE,

Love Abby xox

"It's fine with me, if it's ok with you Gibbs" I said handing the piece of paper back to him and smiling. "Fine I'll tell Abby later" he said putting the piece of paper in his top draw as I walked back over to my desk. Just as I sat down I noticed that the search had come back with 2 different guns. A standard hunting rifle and a rifle called a SC-20K that was really hard to get hold of unless you had military training or some kind of government training. "Boss I think I've got a lead on the scope marks from the body" I said as I walked over the printer and picked up the two sheets "this one is a standard hunting rifle that has a standard scope but the marks on the body look like they come from this one. It's a SC-20K, military or government training only. Really hard to get hold of even on the black market." I said showing him the picture.

He studied the picture and looked at me "How I'd know I'd ask you to try and trace what kind of scope it was." Smiling I said "I'd listened to what you said this morning. Learn to predict." out of the corner of my eye I seen Kate and Tony exchange looks of confusion "Good now what am I going to ask you to do" Gibbs said turning to his computer "Trace any of these rifles that are registered in the DC area and cross-check the search to anyone that has ordered a new scope in the last 2 weeks." I walked off not even waiting for an answer because I could see the small smile across his lips as I was talking.

Sitting down I started to search for anyone in the DC area with a licence for a SC-20K. After what seemed to be forever the results showed there were only 6 people, I cross-referenced there names to gun accessory sites that you could order from and from store records that were available and came up with 2 names. "Gibbs I've got two names one is called John Williams, lives in DC and the other is a Paul Costa who lives in Philly but has his gun registered in DC to an apartment that says here, he rents outs eight of the twelve months" I said while scribbling down their addresses. "here's the addresses boss and both have ordered a new scope with the last two weeks." "Boss no luck on the poisons." Kate said sanding up and looking at Gibbs. "Tony you and Kate take Paul Costa." Gibbs said handing Kate the address I had scribbled down.

As they walked off I looked over Gibbs shoulder to see McGee running towards Gibbs "Boss got it. Abby broke down the tissue, Torrie was right the hemlock killed him. I had Ducky check the victims throat again and he spotted the signs of force consistent with someone being made to eat something they didn't want to." McGee said handing the results to Gibbs "Tim grab your gear and wait at the elevator. I looked at Gibbs as McGee grabbed his stuff and walked towards the elevator without even arguing. "Torrie I'm gonna give I chance to catch up with Abby so I don't have to hear all the details tonight. Go and tell her I said well done. Well done to you too." He said grabbing his gun and walking towards Tim. I transferred my phone down to Abby's lab and made my way down to see her.

Hope I enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R. Thanks Sheree xXx


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention.**

**Hope I are enjoying the story. Please Read & Review.**

"Hey bat girl" I said walking into the lab and spotting her drink a caf-pow as usual. "Are you addicted to them or something?" I said laughing as she finished the last of it and threw the carton into the bin beside her. "No, well yes I am but what are you doing here." She said pointing to a seat beside her "Gibbs and the team are out and he said I could come catch up with you so he doesn't have to hear all the details tonight" "Your coming, both of you. YES that's great" Abby said dancing around her lab "Ab's calm down. I need your help" I said looking at her as she sat down. "Well I'm here to help what's up bunny girl?" "I don't know what to do Ab's. I was wondering if you could do a little digging for me?" "Of course what we looking for." She said closing down programmes she didn't need open anymore

"Nick Stokes, a CSI in Vegas" I said looking down to the floor "OK well what do you need?" she said typing in his name "his family tree. I need to check something" I said hoping that I was wrong "ok got it. He has one brother and five sisters. His mum is a public defender and his dad is on the bench of the Texas State Supreme Court. Anything else?" "No, yes can you see if any of his sisters were ever put up for adoption" I said staring at the family tree right in front of me. "Ok umm.." I heard her typing but wasn't paying to much attention. "Nope nothing here." "Ok thanks Ab's" I said cheering up. I was wrong nothing to worry about. "Anything you wanna talk about bunny girl?" "No its fine just wanted to check that was all" I said smiling at her.

"Ok what about 7ish for dinner that ok?" Ab's said walking over to get something off the printer "yeah fine but what about Gibbs?" "What about me?" I heard him say as the team walked into Abby's lab. "7ish for dinner. That ok with you boss-man?" "Fine. You got the results of that residue yet?" He said handing her a caf-pow "Thanks Gibbs. Yep just got them. It's gun cleaning residue. Standard stuff to anyone who carries or owns a gun" She said smiling at him. "Good job Ab's, Torrie well done we found Mr. Costa carrying the broken scope out to the rubbish. As we pulled up he ran. As for Mr. Williams well he has ordered a new scope but still has his old one in perfect condition. Ab's can you piece this back together and get me a comparison." "Of course. I'll make it my top priority tomorrow morning." She said smiling at him.

"Ok. Good job guys go home. I'll see you all tomorrow" Gibbs said walking out of Abby's lab and towards the elevator "Night Ab's, Kate, Probie, Torrie." Tony said following Gibbs "Night everyone see you tomorrow" McGee said and walked away as well "Typical the men always leave first" Kate said making me and Abby laugh. "Torrie good job today. I think you really proved that you can make it here." Kate said smiling at me "Thanks Kate that means a lot considering I barely know the rules yet" I said smiling back "Night Ab's, Night Torrie" "Night Kate" me and Ab's said together. "Well I'd better go too. I need to go home, shower, change and find my way to your place." I said hugging Abby. "Well here's my address and directions just in case" she said hugging me back and handing me a piece of paper.

"Thanks bat girl. Want me to bring anything with me?" I said looking at her "Nope got it covered. Just don't be late bunny girl" "Ok I won't. Later Ab's" "Later bunny girl." Smiling I walked out of Abby's lab and waited for the elevator. After reaching my desk and picking up my stuff I made my way downstairs, through security and over to my car. "Wow nice car" I heard someone say as I placed my stuff into the boot and closed it "Thanks Tony, you like?" I said looking at him "It's wonderful. It's a 1970 Fastback Mustang isn't it?" "yep got it a year ago. V8 supercharger and full custom interior. This baby cost me a fortune but it was worth it." I said watching Tony's face "hey if you want sometime you could take it out for a spin" "Really, yes please. I'd love that. We'll work it out tomorrow. Night" "Night Tony" I said getting in and starting it up. I turned up the CD player and drove out through security and home.

**Hope I enjoyed this chapter and please R&R. All feedback is welcomed warmly. **

**Thanks Sheree xXx**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention. **

**Feedback is appreciated. Please Read & Review. Thanks.**

I got home and dumped my stuff in the closet. I walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on, up the hall to check my answering machine and into the bathroom. I decided to have a bath instead of a shower, so turning the taps on, I added a little of my favourite bubble bath and walked back to the kitchen just in time to make a hot coffee, the one thing I had been craving all afternoon. I carried the coffee to the bathroom and placed it down on the side. I turned off the taps and went to grab my best fluffy towel and my iPod on its dock. Walking back into the bathroom I placed the towels on the heater and turn on my iPod to find it playing "Westlife - The Love Album" smiling I sank into the hot bath feeling my muscles relax.

After about half an hour I got out and wrapped the nice warm towel around me, wrapped my hair up and took my iPod into the bedroom. I dried and curled my hair grabbed a black halter neck dress with diamonds down the front and my black strappy diamond heels. turning everything off, I grabbed my handbag, cell and directions to Abby's and walked out to my car humming to myself. After getting in I changed the CD to "HIM - Venus Doom" and turned it up full blast. I made my way to Abby's without getting lost and arrived 10 minutes early.

I walked up to Abby's door and knocked. "Coming" I heard her shout, next minute I'm being hugged to death by her "Hey Ab's glad to see you too but we only seen each other an hour ago" I said laughing as she let go "wow you look great. Just how I remember you bunny girl. Go on in kitchens on the left and lounge is on the right. Wines on the table in the lounge." she said smiling "thanks Ab's" I said walking in and looking around. I picked up a glass of wine and turned around to come face to face with Gibbs "Hi Gibbs did Abby hug you to death to?" I asked smiling "yeah as usual" he said walking past the wine and grabbing the bottle of Bourbon on the side just as Abby walked in.

"Gibbs you could ask but I'd only say yes so carry on" she said smiling "Torrie I've got something for you" Abby said passing me a box all wrapped up. "Ab's what's this?" I said opening it slowly. "You'll see I've gotta go check on dinner" she said walking out. I looked at Gibbs hoping he would know but no luck he looked just as confused as I was. Pulling back the last piece of paper I seen a picture of me and Abby dressed as Vampires, wet right through and laughing madly. "Halloween last year of high school. Wet fancy dress competition me and Abby won" I said seeing Gibbs looking at the picture. I heard Abby coming back and ran to hug her "thank you. I'd lost mine and can't see to find it and I've been looking for six years" I said pulling away "you two haven't changed much I see" Gibbs said looking from the picture to me and Abby making all of us laugh. "Dinners ready come through" Ab's said leading the way.

Turns out that even though Abby really didn't like Home Economics she could cook chicken curry to die for "Abby this is fantastic for someone who hated Home Economics and used to mess up everyone else ingredients to make sure they failed" I said laughing at the memory "You did that Abs?" Gibbs asked laughing "to everyone but Torrie and me, we would pass and everyone else would spend their lunch trying to explain what had happened." We finished dinner while telling old stories about each other to Gibbs. After helping Abby clear up I walked into the lounge and sat down next to Gibbs while Abby pulled something off the desk set up in the corner of the room.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you both about. I've been invited to a Halloween ball and I really want to go but I've got 5 spare tickets and nobody to go with me. So, will you please both come with me and the rest of the team. I'll feel a lot safer if you do." I smiled and said "I'm in. I haven't been to a Halloween ball in years but you are going to have to help me find something to wear." "Deal bunny girl. Gibbs what about you and the rest of the team?" I could see that Gibbs was thinking it over "Okay but only if the rest of the team agree to go" he said looking at Abby. After an hour more of laughing about old high school stories I decided to call it a night.

"I'm off home Abby, I'm still tired from moving" I said placing my wine glass on the table "Okay drive carefully and I'll see you tomorrow" Abby said hugging me "Night Gibbs, see you in the morning" "Night Torrie" I hugged Abby one last time and drove home. "Gibbs what do you think of Torrie?" Abby asked seeing the way he had been looking at her all night "She's nice, funny, charming and a great help to the team. Why?" "Just wondering." After saying goodnight to Gibbs and tidy up, Abby notice that Torrie had left her picture 'Give it to her tomorrow' she thought going to bed. I made it home and fell into bed. It had been a long week to me and it was only beginning.

**Thanks for reading. As always please R&R!! Thanks Sheree xXx**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and character are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

I woke up and got changed into my gym gear, it was only 6am but I wanted to get in early to do some training in the gym. Grabbing a coffee and walking back to the bedroom I picked out an outfit and packed into my gym bag and walked down the hall to grab my gun and badge out of the closet along with my flat shoes for work and my trainers. Finishing my coffee and putting on my trainers, I fixed my hair into a bun and walked towards the front door grabbing my keys and locking up. Placing my gym bag on the back seat, I pulled out and drove to work. Arriving at work I pulled up right next to Gibbs and got out "morning boss. Did you enjoy last night?" I asked as I grabbed my gym bag "yeah it was good. Still can't believe the stuff you and Abby used to get up to. you off to the gym?" he said walking with me towards the entrance.

"Yeah thought I'd do some training and tone up it's been ages since I had the chance." I said signing in with the security guys "meet you down there I can show me what you got" he said following me to the elevator "yeah ok see you soon" I said grabbing the elevator going down while Gibbs got into an elevator going up. I walked into the gym locker rooms and stored my stuff and walked towards the punch bags. Gibbs got out the elevator on the third floor and left a note on Tony, Kate & Tim's desk saying:

There are no cases in. Come down to the gym.

Torrie and me are already down there.

Gibbs.

Throwing the rest of his coffee away he grabbed his cell and made his way down to the gym. I hadn't noticed until I stopped to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, that Gibbs had been standing in the doorway watching me "Very impressive Torrie, I've told the rest of the team to meet us down here." Gibbs said while I downed half the bottle in one go "thanks. Well what do you want to do first takedowns or grapples?" I said placing the bottle of water down and looking at Gibbs "takedowns and I'm not going to take it easy on you understand?" "understood. Ready when you are" Me and Gibbs started he would grab me, I would fight out and escape every time. "Hey boss having fun?" Tony said as I flipped Gibbs onto his back holding his arm after he grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards towards him "About time you lot got here." Gibbs said getting up while I walked off to get my bottle of water.

"Actually Tony no, Torrie is better than I expected for an ex CSI" Gibbs said looking at me "no offence intended" "none taken boss" I said throwing one bottle away and opening another. Gibbs paired me with Tony. Kate and McGee took turns to practice with Gibbs. After forcing Tony to the ground for the 30th time Gibbs shouted "Enough. We have a dead petty officer at Norfolk Naval Station. Get changed and meet upstairs in 20 minutes." I helped Tony up and walked towards the locker room laughing with Kate. After changing into black trousers and a red blouse I walked with Tony, Tim & Kate up to the bullpen. I placed everything I didn't need under my desk and packed everything I would need into my backpack. "Grab your gear and follow me" Gibbs said walking towards the elevator. I followed with saying anything and got into the back of the car with Kate and McGee. Tony rode upfront with Gibbs driving.

**Thanks for reading and please R&R. Hope you enjoying the story. Sheree xXx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've just been really busy. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

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Arriving an hour later I got out of the car and stretched "Enjoy the ride Torrie?" Tony asked me laughing "Yes I did actually but you look a little green you ok?" I said walking over to Kate who was laughing at the look on Tony's face. Ducking under the crime scene tape I looked around, at last I felt at home. Smiling I walked over to the body and put my case down, that I had grabbed on the way through the parking lot, without even looking at the body and put on a pair of gloves kneeling down. Looking over my shoulder I seen Gibbs looking at me "Don't worry I'm not going to touch the body until Ducky says I can. I'm just going to check for ID" I said reading the look on his face "Dinozzo sketch the scene, McGee measure the distances, Kate photograph anything Torrie finds before Ducky gets here" Gibbs said turning away from me.

I watched as McGee took out a pad and started measuring the distance from the body to the roadside and as Tony grabbed a sketch pad and started drawing the scene. "Torrie anything you want photographed?" Kate asked looking at me. "yeah the body before I touch it" I said getting up from where I was kneeling "Kate I'll be back in two minutes I just wanna grab something from my bag in the car" "Okay no problem" she said snapping some pictures. I ducked under the crime scene tape and walked back to the car. I grabbed the backpack I had left in the car and pulled out a file.

Gibbs walked over to me and said "Anything you wanna tell me about Torrie?" "No it's just the position of the body reminded me of a photo I used a couple of weeks before I left CSI to a group of students that were touring the lab" I said flipping through pictures "here see. The make-up and hair are different but the pose is the same" "Was this a case file photo?" Gibbs asked looking at me. I shook my head "no it was a picture we set up at the lab. We didn't want any real case file notes or pictures being used so we created a fake file for them. They spent the day going through everything we had given them to try and solve the case. Everything was fake" I said picking up the rest of the notes.

"Torrie explain the case to me" Gibbs said looking at me "Well I created a fake CSI file of a serial killer, he would pick up his victims at a bar, spike their drinks and take them back to his apartment. He would then rape them for 48 hours before taking them into the shower washing them down to remove all trace then drowning them by forcing them into a sink of water. After that he would take the bodies and dump them all over the city and pose them like that" I said pointing to the dead female petty officer by Kate. "Any ID on the body over there?" he said watching me pack away the case file. "I didn't check I only thought of this after Kate walked over to me. I was just going to check" I said walking back towards the body and away from Gibbs. I got back over to Kate and knelt down "you ok Torrie? You look a little shaken up"

"I'm fine thanks Kate" I said pulling a purse out of a pocket in the jacket "Gibbs got an ID" I said making him walk over to me while Kate was photographing it "Petty Officer Melissa Colvin First Class USMC" I said getting up as Ducky arrived beside the body. "Torrie with me, Kate you help Ducky and finish photographing the scene. Dinozzo when your done with that interview the witnesses, McGee bag and tag anything Kate finds" Gibbs said walking away with me following him.

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**Thanks for reading and please R&R. Hope you enjoying the story. Sheree xXx**

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	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention.**

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

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I followed Gibbs to Petty Officer Melissa Colvin's senior officer and asked "Gibbs why did you want me here?" Knocking on the door Gibbs said "because you are going to do the interview. I've seen your skills in the field, now I want to see your suspect skills" Hearing Petty Officer Colvin's senior officer call `come in` we entered and took a seat across from Gunnery Sergeant John Williams. "How can I help you Special Agent Gibbs, Special Agent Smith?" "Gunnery Sergeant Williams we would like to ask you some questions about Petty Officer Melissa Colvin" I said looking at him. " okay ask away, I'll answer what I can for you" he said.

"What do you know about Melissa's private life" I said sitting back slightly "I don't know much only that she lived on base and had a room mate by the name of Petty Officer Donna Spencer First Class" looking at Gibbs I asked "How was Petty Officer Colvin's relationship with yourself and her fellow squad members?" Looking away from me and Gibbs Gunnery Sergeant Williams said " it was fine with her fellow squad members but me and Melissa didn't get along" "In what way?" Gibbs said causing Gunnery Sergeant Williams to turn back towards us.

Sitting down again he said "Myself and Melissa had a disagreement about her ability to do her job on Monday when she reported in late and in my opinion was drunk but she insisted that she was able to work. I let her carry on and watched her all day, she was able to carry out all of her tasks and went home at the end of her shift and we said nothing more about that morning."

I looked at Gibbs and said "I think we have everything we need for now. We'll be in touch if we need to know anything else." As we got up Gibbs said "Can we have a copy of Petty Officers Colvin and Spencer's service records please." "Of course I'll get them now" Gunnery Sergeant Williams said walking into another room. I turned to Gibbs and said "Gibbs he's hiding something. I can feel it." "I know Torrie lets get these files then go and see what the rest of the team have discovered."

After getting the service records we walked out and back towards the crime scene tape. "Well what do you think?" I said walking beside Gibbs "Very good you got a lot more than I expected out of Gunnery Sergeant Williams." "Thanks Gibbs" I said ducking under the crime scene tape and walking towards Tony and Kate. "Well what did you find out while we were interviewing Petty Officer Melissa Colvin's senior officer?" Gibbs said walking over to me with a coffee in his hand. "Ah Gibbs" Ducky said standing up "time of death was approximately 14 to 18 hours ago, but she wasn't killed here and there is no blood so it may have been strangulation" "or drowning" I said looking towards Gibbs.

"Ducky take the body back to the lab. Tony, Kate, McGee pack everything we heading back" Gibbs said motioning for me to follow him "Torrie you are going to have to fill the team in when we get back to the office. For now start thinking about anything that could be helpful." I watched him walk away and looked around, something told me that this was going to be a difficult case.

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**Thanks for reading and please R&R. Hope your enjoying the story. Sheree xXx**

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	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**Sorry for the long time in updates I've moved house so have only just got the internet back.**

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

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In under an hour we were back at NCIS headquarters, McGee was downloading the crime scene pictures to his computer, Tony was drawing up the crime scene sketch he had roughly drawn, Gibbs and Kate were with Ducky in autopsy and I was with Abby watching her process the evidence while she was trying to jog my memory after I had told her about my fake case file. "Gibbs will need everything you can remember Torrie" Abby said starting to process the jacket "I know Abby but that means gong back to New York to get a list of the students that attended and I don't wanna do that" I said lowering my head "You two got anything for me" Gibbs said walking in causing me to jump "Torrie you ok?" Kate said walking over to me "yeah I'm fine must be the chemicals I'll be back in a minute" I said getting up and walking to the bathroom. "Abby what was that all about?" Gibbs said handing a caf-pow to her and looking towards the door I had just walked out of "I have no idea she wasn't crying just now she was just saying that she didn't want to go back to New York. Why she didn't say" Abby said "thanks Abby let us know when you've got something" Gibbs said walking out with Kate and bumping into me "Kate take the stairs and get everyone including Abby and Ducky in the bullpen ready" Gibbs said holding the doors open for me to get into the elevator.

Stepping in I watched Gibbs hit the button for the third floor then hit the emergency stop button "Wanna tell me why you walked out crying when I walked in?" Gibbs said looking at me, after I said nothing he said "ok how about telling me why you don't want to go back to New York" knowing that I would have to tell him or we would be here for the rest of the day I took a deep breath and said "I was dating a cop but didn't tell him I was leaving, or that I was pregnant but miscarried at a crime scene after getting shot 2 times once in the leg and once in the arm, I bleed so much that before I could tell him about the baby it was gone" I said looking away from Gibbs and wiping the tears away that were falling from my eyes, tears I swore I would never let fall again. Looking back at him I sighed and said "the reason I walked out crying is because today is exactly 2 years since it happened and I guess it's just getting to me" I said looking at the floor feeling stupid. "I'll send Kate to New York to collect everything we need and you can take some time off if you want until this case is over" Gibbs said breaking the silence that was hanging between us. "No I'll go to New York but I wouldn't mind if Kate could come with me, I need to face him to try and explain all of this to him. To say I'm sorry to him." I said letting the tears fall down my face this time freely thinking of everything I had given up in New York to take the job at NCIS. Gibbs pulled me into a hug and let me cry forgetting we were at work and that everyone was waiting for us.

In the bullpen Tony was winding Kate up, McGee was studying the crime scene pictures and Kate while being wound up by Tony,was talking to Abby and Ducky about the case "where have they got to?" Abby said looking at her watch it had been ten minutes since she had been called up to the bullpen as was beginning to worry "I'm sure Gibbs is just talking to Torrie" Kate said after seeing me walk out of the lab crying "Abigail dear don't worry I'm sure they are just fine" Ducky said comforting Abby after Kate had filled him in on the little scene downstairs. Just as Tony threw paper at Kate for the 10th time Gibbs and I walked into the bullpen "Dinozzo pick that up" Gibbs barked as I sat down on the corner of my desk, hoping that my make-up wasn't a mess.

Gibbs explained that I had information on the case and I told everyone about the fake case file that I had created. After everyone had heard everything they needed Gibbs said "Kate you and Torrie are going to New York. Collect what we need you have three days then I want you both back here with all the information we need and if possible all of the fake evidence for Abby to go through. You leave tomorrow. Now go home all of you it's 2am" I grabbed my gear and headed for the elevator, walked to my car and drove home. Dropping my gear I headed for my bed. Kate had arranged to pick me up at 9am so I figured I should try and get some sleep even if I knew I would be facing everyone I had ran away from tomorrow. Lying down I cried myself to sleep.

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**Thanks for reading and please R&R. Hope you enjoying the story. Sheree xXx**

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	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

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Waking up to the sound of my alarm I turned over and throw it against the wall. I knew it was time to get up but I just didn't want to, I didn't want to have to face everyone again. I didn't want to face him. I put my head under my pillows and tried to block out the sound of my cell ringing but it wouldn't stop. Picking up my cell I looked at the caller ID "GIBBS" 'great that's all I need' I thought hitting the answer button "Morning Gibbs. What can I do for you?" "Kate phoned she can't make it to New York with you she's ill." Gibbs said sounding relaxed for once "Okay I'll go on my own and be back by tonight I've only got to see my old boss after all" I said knowing full well that I would have to run into 'him' at some point. "No you won't, I'm coming with you and your taking the full three days understood?" Gibbs told me down the phone "Are you sure? I mean I can manage on my own" I said sitting up a little in my bed wondering if Gibbs had planned this in any way. "Yeah I'm sure. Now get dressed and I'll pick you up in 30 minutes." "okay I'll meet you outside."

Hanging up I quickly changed into a pair of black trousers and a kaki green shirt. Placing my favourite black heels on I grabbed my suitcase, thankful that I still hadn't quite finished unpacking and that waking up in the middle of the night to pack extra was a good idea. I grabbed my suit jacket from the back of the door and headed for the hallway where I had dropped my bag last night. Grabbing my wallet, keys and make-up bag I quickly put them into the suitcase I was taking with me and locked my gun and badge into the safe I had in the hallway cupboard. Checking everything one last time I walked out the door locking it behind me. Just as I turned around Gibbs pulled up in his car. Getting out he placed my suitcase into the trunk and I got into the passenger seat. The car journey was pleasant, we talked and laughed, I sang which impressed Gibbs and we talked some more. We stopped just outside New York to have breakfast and a coffee, turns out the me and Gibbs are the same can't function properly without at least two cups of coffee. Breakfast was great but Gibbs wouldn't let me pay saying 'this was his way of saying sorry for being so hard on me since I had started working with him.'

We arrived at our hotel at 11am and headed straight for the room. Turns out that the receptionist had gotten the reservation wrong and we were sharing a room. I wanted a shower and Gibbs wanted a coffee. "I'll be in the shower. Shouldn't be long then I'll take you to the crime lab." I said wondering off from Gibbs to the bathroom with my iPod on its dock playing 'Alesha Dixion.' After showing I walked over to the balcony looking out, hearing the police sirens I knew today was the day to talk to 'him'. "Wanna tell me the name of this Detective that's got you so worried" Gibbs said walking over and handing me a coffee. Looking around I said "Detective Don Flack he was my best friend and now I'm wondering if he even wants to talk to me." I said sipping the coffee overlooking New York City "You know you may not even bump into him" Gibbs said looking at me.

I knew he was trying to comfort me but I just wanted to get it over with. "Ready to get going with traffic like this it's gonna take a good 20 minutes to get there" I said turning around and walking over to grab my suit jacket. Gibbs followed saying nothing. We climbed into his car and I stared the engine and drove off towards the New York Crime Lab knowing that I was about to come face to face with everyone that I had run away from.

Arriving at the Crime Lab I parked the car and took a deep breath "you know I could just go in there on my own if you wanted" Gibbs said walking around to me as I was locking the car. I looked around and sure enough Mac, Stella, Danny, Lindsay and Don's cars were all parked up in the usual places "No I have to do this but thank you for being here I really appreciate it" I said taking one last deep breath and walked towards the entrance of the NYPD Crime Lab with my head held high.

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**Thanks for reading and please R&R. Hope you enjoying the story. Sheree xXx**

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	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

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I walked over to the reception desk looking up I seen that Claire was working 'great here we go' I thought putting on a smile and saying "Hey Claire how are you?" as she ran around the desk to hug me, "I'm good thanks how's you?" "good thanks. Is Mac here I could do with a chat with him" I said as Gibbs stood beside me "Yeah he's holding a meeting but if you go up now you should catch him as he's finishing. Just you?" Clair said looking at Gibbs "no me and Leroy Jethro Gibbs" I said as I clipped my visitor badge onto my jacket. Claire wrote out the log and gave Gibbs a badge and we walked off. "Claire Freshman started the same day I did" I said to Gibbs as we got into an elevator and I hit the 35th floor. "You know where your going right? It's just the sign said meeting rooms second floor" Gibbs said looking at me "Mac will be in his office holding the meeting, he hates the meeting rooms" I said smiling at Gibbs "Okay as long as your not wrong" he said looking back at the buttons. It was at that moment I thought about the first time I had been alone with Gibbs in a elevator.

' _We had just finished the interview for the job at NCIS, I was on a rare day off from NYPD CSI. I said my goodbyes to the Director and Gibbs and was waiting by the elevator to take me to the ground floor when Gibbs appeared beside me "that was a very impressive interview" he said as we stepped into the elevator together "thanks" I said blushing, truth is I never usually went for the older man but there was something about Gibbs that was different. We chatted and he invited me to join him for a coffee. I accepted and we walked out of NCIS together. We grabbed a coffee together and chatted "Sorry to sound rude" I said getting up "but I gotta get back to New York. I've got a shift in 4 hours and it'll take me 2 to get back then I've gotta change and check my kit ready. Thanks for the coffee and I hope to talk to you soon" I said shaking his hand before walking away smiling and thinking to myself 'maybe things might work if I get this job.' '_

The sound of the doors brought me back to reality and I looked out to see Mac and his team with their backs to the elevators as we stepped out. Taking a depth breath I walked towards Mac's office door and knocked. I watched as one by one they all looked towards the door and seen me standing there. Then I seen Don sitting on Mac's sofa looking towards me and I could see the hurt in his eyes. Mac open the door only to have Stella push him out the way as she hugged me to death, closely followed by Danny, Linsday, Sheldon and then Adam. Finally I got into the office and faced Mac as he pulled me into an hug "you know it's good to see you again Torrie" he said letting me go "you to Mac" I said turning around to look at Don but he wasn't there "where did he go?" I said looking around at the group. "He walked out said something about he'll see you later Mac" Danny said seeing the hurt in my eyes.

"Everyone this is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. He here to collect some information about the fake case file I created. About the fake serial killer, that would pick up his victims at a bar, spike their drinks and take them back to his apartment. He would then rape them for 48 hours before taking them into the shower washing them down to remove all trace then drowning them by forcing them into a sink of water. After that he would take the bodies and dump them all over the city and pose them." "I remember" Stella said "that make-up still hasn't come out of the top I was wearing" Laughing I said "sorry Stella I'll buy you a new top to make it up to you" Danny, Lindsay, Sheldon and Adam said there goodbyes just as there pagers went off. "Mac, Stella could you fill Gibbs in while I go for a walk?" I asked "If you're going to see Flack then no. Leave him for a while let him calm down" Mac said sitting down at his desk "I'm not going to see Flack he's on a case" I said causing Stella, Mac and Gibbs to look at me "I caught sight of Danny's pager on the way out 'body on 35th street. Flack on route' I wanna go for a walk through central park ok" I said walking to Mac's office door "If you need me I've got my cell" I said walking over to the elevators and getting in.

"Mac Taylor that was a little harsh" Stella said while Gibbs sat down "Was it? She walked out on him Stella and even today he still cries over her. He loved her and she ran away for no reason. I don't blame him for being the way he is" Mac said pulling out a file and handing it to Gibbs "A copy of the file" "Thanks. Anything I should know about this case that isn't in here?" Gibbs said closing the file and looking at Mac. "No but I will do anything to help. Everyone here will" Mac said looking at Stella who just turned the other way. "Do you still have the evidence that you used?" "yeah in storage would take a day or so to get" Stella said looking at Gibbs "I'd also need a copy of the students that attended and all of the paperwork they filled out" Gibbs said looking at Stella then Mac "No problems but would you care to tell us what's going on?" Mac said looking at Gibbs. Sitting up a little Gibbs said "we have a case and the pose looked familiar to Torrie and then she remembered this" Gibbs said pointing to the case file "she filled us in but we need to see everything to do with this case file to determine if our killer is someone that took this tour around the lab that day." "We'll help as much as possible" Stella said looking towards Mac.

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**Thanks for reading and please Review they are most welcome. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**

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	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me! Sheree xXx**

After grabbing a coffee from my favourite stand I walked along a familiar path towards the strawberry fields of Central Park. I loved it there it was just so relaxing for me. I sat down and looked around at everyone just going about their business, watching them talking on cell phones or drinking coffee while running to get to wherever they had to get to. I sat thinking about the first time I met Don.

'_I walked into NYPD's CSI lab, it was my first day and I was a little scared but mostly excited this was new to me and I was ready for anything. I stepped out of the elevator and bumped straight into someone "Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" I said to him. I looked him over tall, dark hair, blue eyes and lips that I just wanted to kiss. "It's ok you looking for someone?" he said to me smiling "yeah Detective Mac Taylor I start work for him today. I'm Detective Torrie Smith" I said holding my hand out "Detective Don Flack NYPD I work alongside Mac. Nice to meet you Torrie. Follow me I'll take you to Mac" He said stepping out of my way so I could walk beside him. "I'm sorry about the elevator nerves I guess" I said not knowing what else to say apart from, well things that I shouldn't. "That's ok don't worry about it." I followed along the hall and round a corner to what looked like a conference room "Mac someone here to see you" Don said walking into the room while I stayed near the door. After meeting Mac and the rest of the team I would be working with I got sent to my first case. After arriving I looked around cop cars everywhere and Don getting information from an uniformed officer. I walked over to the body and started photographing it. Don walked across and gave me all the information he had but to this day I swear Don was flirting with me at a crime scene from the way he was looking and talking to me.' _

I was smiling to myself when I suddenly heard my cell go off, looking down I seen the caller ID read Don. Slowly I answered "Hi Don" "Look we have to talk but I'm gonna be busy with paperwork for a few hours yet. How about you book us a table at that restaurant you like for 8pm and I'll meet you there." He sounded nervous and upset but I knew that this was going to be my only chance to explain to him why I left and why I did it like I did. "Yeah ok. I'll do that and call you with the details just in-case." I said shaking slightly "OK bye" "Bye Don" I went to put my cell back into my pocket when it went off again, this time it was Gibbs "Yes Gibbs" I said getting up and throwing my empty coffee cup into the bin "You need to come back here now. We need to talk" He sounded angry "OK I'm on my way but what I do?" I asked as I started walking the familiar path back to the lab. "I'll tell you when you get here" Gibbs said hanging up. I stopped at the coffee stand again getting one for Mac, Stella and Gibbs. Walking in I headed straight up to Mac's office, but he wasn't there nobody was. Placing the coffee's on Mac's desk I dialled the number to my favourite Italian restaurant and booked the table for 8pm.

Just as I was hanging up to call Don I spotted him coming out the elevator. "Don" I called walking over to him. "I booked the table for 8pm but I was thinking why don't we just grab a take away and talk it out at your place instead. I mean if we start arguing then at least we won't be ruining anybody else's night by screaming at each other." He looked at me for a few seconds then said "your right grab whatever you want and be at mine for 8pm." I started walking away when someone grabbed my wrist, turning around I seen it was Don "I want answers tonight, the truth and nothing else understood?" I looked him in the eyes and said "I swear Don you'll get answers tonight, true answers." he let go and walked away then I had a thought "hey Don want me to bring the beer or you supplying that?" He turned around smiling and said "Bring extra we might need them" before walking away. I walked back into Mac's office and called the restaurant cancelling the table. What I didn't know is that Mac, Stella, Gibbs and Adam had over heard my conversation with Don.

Looking up I seen Gibbs followed by Mac and Stella walking towards me. "What the hell are you playing at?" Gibbs yelled as soon as he was through the door "What are you on about Gibbs? Care to explain because I have no idea!" I said back looking towards Stella or Mac for any clues "Maybe I can deal with this" Mac said sitting down at his desk "you and Don is what we're talking about. We seen that little conversation and heard it as well" Mac looked at me as I realised what they thought. "Look I left Don alone he called me and asked to have dinner tonight so we can talk we were going to a restaurant but instead of ruining anyone else's night we are gonna have it at his place instead. That's all that's happing nothing more" I said downing the rest of my now warm coffee "Not a good idea Torrie" Stella said looking at me "Look Don wants to talk, I want to explain. If things get out of hand then I'll walk away but he suggested this not me" I said getting up and walking to the door "I'm going back to the hotel to get some rest I'll see you all tomorrow" I walked away and down to reception, handed my pass over and drove back to the hotel. I sent a text to Don warning him that Mac and Stella knew about tonight and were not happy so he had a heads up then climbed onto my bed and fell asleep.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I woke up and looked at the clock 6.30pm. I got up and looked towards the balcony only to find Gibbs staring out at the streets below "Hi" I said sleepily walking towards him. He turned around and handed me a coffee "I'm sorry about earlier but from what I can deduce Don loved you and still does" I took a long sip of coffee and said "Gibbs me and Don were happy together, very happy but after getting shot and losing the baby I just couldn't face him. Running away seemed like the easiest thing in the world to do but it turns out that it wasn't. I still love him but only as a best friend. How did you know that Don loved me?" Taking another sip of coffee and looking at him "I had the pleasure of a conversation between Mac and Stella just after you left to go for a walk through Central Park. Stella thought Mac was a little harsh on you and Mac thought that he had every right to be and said that Don loved you and still does" I looked at the streets below and took another sip of coffee suddenly realising that tonight was going to be much harder than I thought.

"Gibbs is there a problem with me having an ex involved in this case?" I said looking him square in the eyes. "No not at all, as long as it doesn't affect your job or mess you or the case up then its fine" he took a long swig of coffee as I stood there not believe a word he had just said to me. I watched Gibbs as he walked back towards the desk in the hotel room. "Torrie I've been reading the case file and there's not much we can do until we get the list of students and the fake evidence and that could take another day" he said not once looking at me. I finished my coffee without saying a word and walked back into the room.

I walked over to my suitcase and grabbed a pair of jeans and a top. I could tell Gibbs was pissed at me by the way he changed the subject so quickly, but it wasn't his problem it was mine. I was the one that was going to have to spill my heart tonight to a man I loved. To the man that I left and broke his heart without even a goodbye or a look over my shoulder as I ran away. Standing up from my suitcase I grabbed my make-up bag and said "Gibbs I'm going tonight and I'm gonna tell Don everything, he deserves it but if you don't like it then leave and consider this my notice" I said walking into the bathroom to get changed. As I shut the door I heard something being thrown across the room but decided not to go back out. I changed into my favourite jeans and one of my tank tops I used for training. I placed my hair into a bun and put on a little light eye shadow and lip gloss, I decided against everything else because I knew at some point that night I would be crying.

Picking everything up from the bathroom I walked back out expecting to find Gibbs gone and a note saying to drop my gun and badge back to him when I could but instead I found him sitting on his bed looking at the floor, not usual Gibbs. I placed everything back into my suitcase and walked over to the my bed. Sitting down I placed my black peep toe heels on and picked up my handbag. "Gibbs I off I've gotta grab something to eat and some beers before I go to Don's. I have my cell if you need me then call and I'll see if I can help. I'm sorry for losing it with you earlier but I need to do this. I'm sorry" why I was saying I'm sorry I don't know but it felt like it was what I should have been doing. I placed a small peck on Gibbs' cheek then grabbed my room key and left.

I made it to the store in record time considering the traffic and that it was 7.30pm already and grabbed some extra beers. I decided to get Chinese considering it was my favourite and Don's too. I stopped by the best Chinese in the area, grabbing BBQ spare ribs and egg fried rice for me and crispy aromatic duck for Don. I also got crispy seaweed, a pot of BBQ sauce and a portion of banana fritters each for desert. I knew Don would be home already so placing everything on the front seat of Gibbs' car I drove through the traffic to Don's apartment. I grabbed the food and the beers and locked the car. I made my into Don's apartment building and got into the elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor. Stepping out I walked down the hall and taking a deep breath to steady my nerves I knocked on the door to Don's apartment.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Does anyone know a good place to upload title pages/front covers to? Please contact me and let me know thanks xXx**

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

He opened the door and looked me straight in the eyes "hey, is that Chinese I smell?" he said taking the bag off me and walking towards the kitchen as I followed him in and shut the door "yeah I got your favourite" I said walking to the fridge and placing the beers I'd just brought in and taking out 2 cold ones. "You remembered my favourite?" Don said looking a little shocked, I smiled and took the fork he was holding out for me "yeah now let's eat I'm starving" I said walking towards the couch and flopping down on it. As I took the first bite of a rib Don sat down beside me, I knew he wanted to talk but I wanted to eat first then talk. Don flipped the TV to the sports channel but I wasn't really paying attention, I knew what was coming after we had eaten.

I sat eating as Don watched the sports channel and we made polite small talk, asking how work was going, what was happening in the lab and how people were. Draining the last of my beer I grabbed the dishes and walked to the kitchen. I placed them into sink and grabbed another beer out of the fridge "we need to talk and now would be a good time" Don said from the doorway making me jump slightly. I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down "ok where do you want me to start?" I said looking at Don who was leaning against the doorframe "from the day you got shot, and tell me everything please Torrie I deserve that at least" he said walking over and sitting down across from me. Swallowing I took a deep breath and started to tell Don everything.

"Well as you know we got called to a scene and when we got there the perp ran and we chased. After being shot I was rushed to the hospital but what I never told you or anyone else was that I was pregnant. I told the paramedics and the doctors but there was nothing they could do. They tried everything but nothing worked. I cried for ages that's why I told the nurses to keep you all out, I couldn't stop crying and I knew you'd all get suspicious if I cried in front of you so I pushed you all away" I sat in Don's kitchen crying again, letting the tears fall while Don sat there in shock. After a little while he finally managed to say "Why didn't you tell me? When did you find out? Why did you run?" I looked back and still crying said slowly "I didn't tell you cause I didn't have time to. I'd only found out that morning and you were really busy so I couldn't tell you at work. I ran because I was scared. Scared that you were going to hate me, that Mac would hate me for not following the rules and fire me. Scared that everyone in the lab would turn against me. I didn't want that I ran because it seemed like the easiest thing in the world to do but it turns out that it wasn't, it was the hardest. I had to stop on the way to Washington DC because I couldn't see for crying. I'd only just left and I missed you, I missed the gang, the lab everything but I knew I could never turn around because then you would all hate me."

I got up and went to the bathroom I needed to clean up and Don needed time to think. I looked in the mirror and finally seen what I wanted to the person I was before everything had happened. Wiping the eye shadow away and the rest of the lip gloss, I straightened my hair up and walked back to the kitchen. I seen Don sitting there with tears in his eye and realised that he hated me. "Don talk to me please. I don't wanna lose you as a friend" I said walking over and sitting down again. "You bitch. Get out now. I'm not your friend. GET OUT!" he screamed grabbing my bag and coat and pushing me out of his apartment and slamming the door in my face. I wiped away a few of the tears falling from my eyes and looking at Don's door said "I'm sorry Don. I love you" before walking back to the car to start the tearful journey to the hotel, hoping Gibbs would be away and would be able to help stop my tears.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I arrived back at the hotel and walked over the elevator, as it arrived in the lobby Gibbs walked out of it and seen me standing there crying. He walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. After what seemed like forever Gibbs steered me towards the elevator and up to our room. He opened the room door and sat me on my bed, I kicked off my heels and curled up in the foetal position I didn't even hear him call the front desk and ask for a bottle of bourbon to be sent up or call Mac and tell him that he found me in the lobby of the hotel crying. I just stayed on my bed crying, replaying those words that Don had said to me over and over again.

After an hour or so I looked up to see Gibbs sitting on the bottom of my bed holding a glass of bourbon out for me. I sat up and wiped away the tears that were falling and slowly took the glass from Gibbs "drink it. It'll help calm you down" he said walking into the bathroom then reappearing with tissues. He sat down beside me and started wiping away the rest of my tears. I slowly calmed down enough to talk Gibbs. "I'm sorry Gibbs. I should be like this I should have expected him to react the way he did. It's all my fault and now I'm making a mess of your evening." I took another sip of bourbon just sat there looking into the bottom of the glass. "Torrie it's fine you want to tell me what happened?" I finished the drink and walked over to the desk to pour another glass, normally I would never drink bourbon but it seemed to be helping so I didn't care. Gibbs didn't move he just sat on my bed watching me.

I walked back over to the bed and sat down, taking a deep breath I turned to Gibbs and said "I told Don about losing the baby. Why I pushed everyone away from me and why I ran. His response was to throw me out of his apartment and tell me I was a bitch and that I wasn't his friend anymore" I started crying again and placed the glass on the bedside table and curled up again. As I laid on my bed crying Gibbs got up and grabbed my sleep clothes without me even seeing. Walking into the bathroom Gibbs ran a hot bubble bath and placed towels and my clothes on the side and walked back out to me. "Come on Torrie I've got a bath ready for you. You go and soak then you can sleep a bit better." I looked at Gibbs and smiled. I slowly got up and walked towards the bathroom.

I closed the door and stripped out of my clothes and sank into the hot bubble bath. I looked towards the mirror and seen that my iPod was still in the bathroom. I reached across and hit it to play "Westlife - Back Home" I love that album and it always seems to help me relax. I knew if I wasn't careful I'd probably end up falling asleep. It was only then that it struck me, how did Gibbs know that a hot bubble bath would help me relax and help me sleep better? I figured I'd ask him in the morning when I'd slept and I could act a little more professional around him.

I have no idea how long I was in there but I really relaxed. I heard a knock on the room door but thought Gibbs had ordered another bottle of bourbon so I thought nothing of it. I slowly got out and dried off. I was feeling really sleepy, slowly I changed into black pyjamas and brushed my hair through before putting it into a bun. I drained the bath and opened the door. I stopped in my tracks as I seen who was standing in my room with Gibbs. Suddenly I didn't feel tired anymore just very sick.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I looked at Gibbs trying to read the expression on his face but I couldn't. Slowly I looked around the rest of the room and seen Mac, Stella, Danny, Lindsey, Sheldon and Adam all looking at me. I have no idea why I felt sick but I had a feeling Gibbs had told them what had happened with Don and now they were going to say I told you so. I got up enough courage to walk across to my bed and sit down. I took the drink from the table where I'd left it and downed the rest in one. "You wanna tell me why Don walked into my office an hour ago and quit?" Mac said breaking the uneasy silence that was consuming the room. I took a deep breath and said "I have no idea maybe you should ask Don not me. I have nothing more to do with him" I stood up and walked over to the desk beside where Gibbs was sitting and poured another large glass of bourbon.

Mac looked at me as I turned around to walk back to my bed and said "really? Don told me that he hated you but the reason he was quitting was because the rest of us had lied to him and that he could not trust anyone of us to have his back in the field." I looked from Mac to Stella then to Danny, Lindsey, Sheldon and finally Adam. I knew I looked shocked but I was more hurt than anything else, hurt by the fact that Don would lie like that to my friends, to his friends. I downed the glass of bourbon I was holding and went to place the empty glass on the table when I turned around and throw it against the wall. I couldn't help it Don had lied and I was getting the blame. It wasn't fair and I knew it was time to ask a difficult question.

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth "Mac did Don tell you the real reason I ran not the reason I gave when sent you my notice?" that caused Stella and Gibbs to look at me "No he never told me anything but what does that have to do with you telling Don that he couldn't trust us" Mac said getting up and walking over to me. I turned and got right in Mac's face "Everything! He's lying! I never left cause the job got to hard and I was unhappy with the work rules. I left because… because the day I got shot I lost a baby. I found out that morning I was pregnant and before I could tell Don or anyone else, I'd lost it. I ran because I was scared and I thought it was the easiest thing to do, turns out it was the hardest. I thought you would all hate me but I never ever told Don he couldn't trust you guys. I never even told you about the baby so how could he not trust you all? I can't believe he lied to you" I turned away from Mac and walked out onto the balcony, I loved looking at the skyline it seemed to calm me.

I never heard the talking going on inside the room between Gibbs I just wanted to forget about the whole day. Tears were falling down my face when I heard my name being called. Stella walked out to me and pulled me into a hug "hey come on Torrie, I had a feeling Don was angry but I never imagined he'd lie. I knew there was something and now I've heard your side I know your telling the truth. I'm still your friend no matter what ok?" Stella said pulling me back to arms length to look me in the eyes. I smiled and said "thanks Stella I never meant for all of you to be dragged into this. I knew I had to tell Don the truth but I never thought he'd do what he has" I wiped away the rest of my tears and walked back into the room knowing I had Stella and Gibbs as support gave me strength.

I said goodbye to Danny and Lindsey then Adam and Sheldon. Mac and Stella left both say that they knew I was telling the truth but there were still things that need talking about. I smiled as I shut the door then seen Gibbs picking up the broken glass from on the floor. I walked over and bent down to help, after me and Gibbs had picked all the glass up and put in the bin I walked over and sat on my bed "Gibbs thanks for helping me tonight. I'm sorry you've been pulled into the middle of this" I climbed into bed as Gibbs climbed into his and said "your welcome Torrie. Mac has some information for us so he wants us to go see him tomorrow. Now get some sleep" Gibbs switched off his light and I switched off mine. I feel into a dreamless sleep not to long after.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	17. Chapter 17

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I woke up a lot earlier than I had planned on doing. I laid in bed staring at the skyline of New York City thinking about everything that had happened in the last 36 hours and wondering what else could possibly happen while I was here in NYC. After about an hour I heard Gibbs wake and head towards the bathroom, a few minutes later I heard the shower start. I got out of bed and walked to the balcony and looked out at what used to be my home. I felt the tears start building up and let them fall, I needed to let them all out now if I was to have any chance at a normal day. The tears fell and all the pain was leaving with them, I knew I had to be professional today but in the back of my mind I knew I would have to see Don today. Whether it was at work or his apartment I didn't know yet but I knew we had to talk.

I wiped away the tears as Gibbs walked out of the bathroom "Morning Gibbs did you sleep well?" I said walking back into the room and over to my case to pick out an outfit for that day. "Morning Torrie yes I slept well thanks. You?" Gibbs said as he laced up his shoes "yes thanks Gibbs won't be a minute just gonna get changed" I said as I walked into the bathroom. After changing into a pair of black trousers, blue shirt and black peep toe heels I walked out to see Gibbs waiting to go. We walked down to the car and drove to the lab. I had a feeling that Gibbs knew what was going on but I never questioned him. Gibbs parked the car and we walked into the lab, grabbed our visitor badges and headed up to Mac's office. As we stepped of the elevator I seen Mac, Stella and Don talking, I walked over and knocked on the door. Stella stood up and opened the door for me and Gibbs, walking in I thought Don was going to walk out instead he just sat on the sofa looking at the floor. I sat next to Stella and said "what's going on Mac?" Gibbs looked at me and said "You and Don have to talk so we are here to help make sure that this problem get sorted."

After what seemed like hours but really was just a few seconds Don said " I'm sorry Torrie. I was hurt, angry and annoyed that you never told me sooner about the baby. I need answers to make sense of everything." I took a deep breath and got up from beside Stella and walked over to Don and sat on the floor in front of him. I didn't care what anyone else in the office thought I had to look Don in the eyes to help him understand. "Don look at me" I said holding my hands out to him the same way we used to when we had a fight. It took him awhile but in the end he put his hands in mine and that's when I realised we could talk again. "Don I know you were angry and hurt but I couldn't lie to you and I couldn't dance around it. I told you like I did because you asked for the truth and that's what I told you. I know it hurt you, it hurt me too and I know it sounds stupid but I never told you after I'd lost the baby because I didn't want to hurt you. I know now that it was wrong of me to think that but you have to understand, I was in pain and suffering with the loss. I didn't want help or someone with me cause I blamed myself. I should have told Mac, Stella or you that I was pregnant and I should have never have gone to that scene."

I took a deep breath and waited I wanted Don to talk and it took a little but he looked at me and said "I know how much it hurt you to tell me last night and I know how much it hurt you to say that just now. Last night after I threw you out I cried myself to sleep for a few hours and then walked in here and quit. I know that was stupid but I was angry and took it out on the team. I know you were trying to protect me but I wish you had told me when it happened. Mac has given me my job back and I want to talk more but not now. Dinner tonight my place 8pm and I'll even buy" Smiling I hugged Don and said "date but not Chinese. I can only eat that once a week" laughing Don hugged me back just as his pager went off. He said bye to Gibbs, Mac, Stella and me then went to work. I smiled and said "I'm off for a walk back in about an hour" and left Mac's office. I knew that today was gonna be a good day. At least that's what I thought

_.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	18. Chapter 18

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I grabbed a coffee and sat in central park looking at the ducks playing in the pond and all the little children running around playing with their parents or chasing after the ducks. I smiled thinking that it could have been me or Don playing peak-a-boo or feeing the ducks with our kid but I knew that would never happen. As I sat drinking my coffee my cell started ringing, I looked at the caller ID and seen it was Gibbs. I figured he wanted me back at the lab to go over the case file and evidence reports that Stella and the team should have gotten from central storage by now.

As I answered the phone I threw the empty the empty coffee cup in the bin and said "what you need Gibbs" I started walking the familiar path back to the lab when suddenly I froze in my tracks at what Gibbs had just said "Don's been shot he's on his way to the hospital called New York Hospital Queens, now. Get back to the lab, Mac's waiting to drive you there." I slammed the phone into my pocket and took off running back towards the lab. I reached the lab car park to see Mac standing by his car with Gibbs. I ran towards Mac and out of breath said " What happened? Where did it happen? Is he going to live?" Gibbs wrapped an arm around me and said "Torrie calm down. He's going to live but he's refusing treatment until you get there." I jumped into the backseat with Gibbs while Mac drove towards the hospital with lights and sirens on.

We pulled up outside the hospital and I jumped out of the car and ran towards the doors before Gibbs or Mac could say anything. I ran to the nurses desk and said "Where's Detective Flack?" The nurse looked and before she could say anything Mac said "Torrie this way" I smiled at the nurse and followed Mac through a set of doors and seen Don lying on a bed screaming in pain and I heard him say "I am not doing anything you want me too until Torrie gets here. Now get away from me!" I giggled at the fact that Don was acting like a little child and said at the top of my voice "either you let them help you Don Flack or I'll do it myself and it will hurt twice as bad as it does now" Don looked up and smiled as I walked over to him and told the nurse to carry on. She looked sceptical as if she expected Don to refuse again but as soon as placed the needle into his arm she realised his gaze was on me so she and other nurses could do what was needed. I stood by his side watching him as he stared back at me. To me there was nobody else around, just Don and the unmatched trust we both had in each other.

The nurses and doctors worked around Don while Gibbs and Mac stood off to the side watching me whispering to Don. "They make a cute couple" Gibbs said to Mac. Smiling Mac said "let me tell you a story. When Torrie started working for me the first person she met on this team was Don. He showed her around to the staff room and I hadn't seen him smile like that in ages. I never said anything and they seem to be nothing but professional at work together. One night after a case that had got Don's girlfriend killed while on escort duty, Torrie went round to Don and spent the night sitting with him while he cried. She done that every night and the days where Don went missing she would spend her breaks looking for him, calling him and checking he didn't have his gun on him. She spent weeks getting him back to his normal self and then they got together and things looked up for them both. I had never seen either of them so happy. Then Torrie left and Don crumbled and it took the whole team to pull him back from the edge, stop his drinking and cover his ass so he kept his job. Nobody knew why Torrie had left and that's what hurt Don the most, the fact that unlike his previous girlfriend Jess, he didn't know what had happened to Torrie. Then I told him she had moved to Washington and taken a job at NCIS and he just became a shell. Work for him was a routine and the nights he drank himself stupid. Hopefully the truth will bring the Don we know and love back to us."

Gibbs watched as Don laughed at the faces I was making at him while the nurse was stitching the bullet wound in his left arm closed and glued the split lip he had to stop it bleeding. After two hours Don was patched up and we were on the way back to the lab, Mac driving Gibbs in the passenger seat with me and Don in the back, while Don leaned on my shoulder asleep. Today had turned out good and things were beginning to look up in my life, I thought as I fell asleep with my head on Don.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I do not own and no copyright is intended. The plot and original characters are my invention. **

**If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them! Sheree xXx**

I woke up just as we pulled into the lab car park and looked at Don who was still asleep. I watched as Mac and Gibbs got out then slowly I turned to Don and said "Don wake up were at the lab" Don smiled and said "I'm awake have been for the last 10 minutes. I'm surprised you needed the sleep though" laughing I said " thanks but when you work 20 hour days sleep is whatever you can grab on your break." I got out and walked around to Don's side to help him out. As I was I noticed Mac and Gibbs waiting by the entrance for us in deep conversation and made a mental note to talk to Gibbs later about it. I walked beside Don as we made our way through the reception and over to the elevators. I was glad when it was just me, Don, Mac and Gibbs in the elevator until Mac started talking "Don what was going on? Why did it take Torrie coming to the hospital for you to let the nurses treat you?" I turned to face Mac and said "not now Mac at least let him sit down before you interrogate him." Don looked at me and smiled which had Gibbs grinding his teeth and Mac staring daggers towards me. I just ignored them and hoped the elevator journey would be over soon.

As the doors opened Don walked out and I followed leaving Mac and Gibbs to follow. I stepped ahead of Don and opened Mac's office door for him. Don sat on the sofa and I took a seat at Macs desk I figured the he was already upset and I wasn't gonna make him or Gibbs worse than it already was. Mac followed Gibbs into the office and before he could say anything Stella walked in and closed the office door. I looked at Don and he looked at Stella. Breaking the silence Gibbs said "Don I think you need to answer Macs questions" Stella looked at me and said "what questions?" I looked around the room and said "Mac and Gibbs want to know why Don wouldn't let the nurses treat him until I got there and what is going on. Although I have no idea what he means by `I want to know what's going on` because there is nothing going on between me and Don." Stella looked around and said "Mac have you forgotten Don hates hospitals if he's the patient and the best person to calm him down is Torrie or me." Don smiled at Stella and said "that's true I do hate hospitals if I'm the patient and yes usually I ask for Stella but I figured Torrie wouldn't mind as she was closer."

I smiled at Don while Mac and Gibbs looked at me as if to say 'I don't believe you'. Stella sensed the tension and said " Gibbs I have the case file with all the names in that you requested but the evidence boxes are taking some finding as someone in central storage has moved them and didn't write down there new place. We should have them by the morning." I looked at Stella then Gibbs without giving away I knew Stella was lying. I had to wonder why Stella would lie but decided it was best to ask her away from Mac and Gibbs. I decided that coffee was in order so getting up I said to Stella "hey Stella why don't you come help me get coffee for everyone. You can catch me up on everything I've missed." I got up and walked out of Mac's office to the elevator with Stella following me. Once the doors were closed I looked and said "why did you lie to Mac and Gibbs?" Smiling Stella stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the street without saying a word. I followed and waited knowing that Stella would tell me. We walked in silence to the coffee stand and got the coffees. We chatted about the office gossip that I had missed since I'd left and then Stella said "I lied to them so you could talk to Don tonight and I figured it would give you chance to go over the files in the morning before heading back to DC." I followed Stella back to the lab wondering if talking to Don would be a good idea.

**Thanks for reading and please Review, they are most welcome & greatly needed. Hope you are enjoying the story. Sheree xXx (ChaingangDiva)**


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